by Piper Stone
Grabbing her hairbrush, Cooper tossed it in Angie’s direction. A shiver trickled down her spine, snaking down her legs, her face flushing. “I’m hissing at you! The man had no right. None. Period.”
“Hey, all I can say is that you obviously needed a long, hard spanking.” Angie’s tone of voice was full of mischief.
“I am going to toss you out of my life.” Reaching behind her, she touched her ass, wincing. Sitting was going to be difficult for a solid day.
“So, who was this cowboy dude anyway?”
“That’s just it. I have no freaking idea. Not really.” Cooper had recognized him, but she was unable to remember from where. She’d pictured his carved face and dazzling cerulean eyes more than a dozen times since the incident.
And his broad chest.
And his long legs.
And his rounded ass in the skin-tight, faded blue jeans.
Sighing, she brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, envisioning the cowboy hunk towering over her, chastising his naughty little girl. Fuck me. It was hot as hades in the bathroom.
“You’re kidding me. A man spanked your ass and you didn’t at least get his phone number?” Angie’s laugh was muffled. “That’s not like you. Just why did he give you a spanking again? Oh, yes, because of your caustic mouth. I told you that your nasty attitude would get you in trouble one day.”
Yeah, in her younger days she would have corralled the man, demanding all kinds of identification. “I’ve changed.”
“Said the spider to the fly.” Angie was laughing hysterically. “I thought you said you were dating Zeke.”
She rolled her eyes. “I had one drink with the man. That’s it. He caught me coming out of my father’s office and corralled me. I thought what the heck, but he’s not my type at all.”
“Hmmm... I think you like this mystery cowboy.”
He’s sexy and dominating and... Oh, no. She couldn’t even think this way. Cooper allowed her dress to fall and moved to powder her nose. She had changed over the last few years, her once brazen attitude merely a prop. The truth was, she had no idea what she was doing with her life and the terror and apprehension had allowed her old ways to return. Or maybe just being back home had the same effect. Either way, she was well aware her behavior was off the charts. Had been for months. The reasons why were no longer viable in her mind. Get it together. Yeah, she was trying.
“You were at Frisco’s last night? I know almost everyone who goes there,” Angie offered. “Tell me more about him.”
She remained quiet, ready to leave the conversation.
“Oh, come on. Don’t be a sour puss. So, you were spanked. I wouldn’t mind having a sexy cowboy spanking my ass at all.”
“You weren’t there,” she insisted, almost stamping her foot. Adulting wasn’t in her vocabulary today.
“Trust me, I wish I had been. Anyway, hurry up!” Angie admonished. “We have a party to go to.”
Attending the town picnic wasn’t at the top of her agenda for the day, especially since several of the customers in the bar were bound to be in attendance. “I wish I could figure out why he looks so familiar. I definitely don’t want to run into him again.”
“Uh-huh. Well, I highly doubt some handsome dude is going to decide to move to Lubbock on a whim, but the town is big enough maybe you won’t,” Angie insisted, popping up from the bed and crowding the doorway. She grabbed the brush, twirling the wooden handle. “Look! This could be effective for punishment.”
She gave her friend a death stare before grabbing her favorite lipstick. “I don’t know. I think he’s someone from the past, maybe from school.” There’d been one boy that she’d craved, even fantasizing about. They’d enjoyed several sensuous moments, but this guy didn’t look like the boy she’d fawned over. The cowboy from the bar was built like a soldier, hard in all the right places. And yes, she’d felt his throbbing cock pushing against her belly when she was over his knee.
Angie moved into the doorway of the bathroom. “Then again, think of it this way. Maybe this is fate and he’ll be at the barbecue today.”
“Oh, perfect. Thank you oh-so much for making my damn day.”
“That’s grounds for having your mouth washed out with soap.” Angie slapped her hand over her mouth, laughing so hard she was forced to double over.
“Can we please stop with the jokes? The situation was mortifying.” Cooper dotted her lips with the coloring, smacking them together as she thought about his voice, so deep and sensual. His tone was like smooth velvet with a hint of gravel, making her weak in her knees. She swallowed as her nipples hardened. Why was she having this kind of reaction to a man who’d forced her into an uncompromising situation?
And you liked it. Shame or no shame. He took control, dominating you, giving you exactly what you deserved.
Oh, no, she wasn’t going to go down that path. She hadn’t deserved a spanking and it was never going to happen again.
“Shut up!” she hissed under her breath and glared at her friend again. She would no doubt be the talk of the town.
“I didn’t say anything else.” Winking, Angie checked her watch. “We should get going or are you stalling?”
“Hell, yes, I’m stalling.” Cooper grabbed her purse, shoving the lipstick inside. “What if he’s there?”
“Well, you either ignore him or confront him. You have two choices.”
“And what would I say if I confronted him?”
Angie winked, her eyes falling to Cooper’s chest. “Hello, I want to fuck your brains out?”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she rolled her eyes, but the truth was there, bold and beautiful. The mysterious, sexy stranger was the only man who’d ever stopped her childish actions, with the exception of her father. She exhaled, glaring at her reflection. The reasons for her sometimes reprehensible behavior were more of a defense mechanism. Granted, she’d been fired from her last two jobs for insubordination, had zero dollars in her bank account and only limited prospects for a job. On top of that? She’d been forced to come back home with her tail between her legs. So much for her expensive college education. Even graduating six months early and summa cum laude hadn’t given her the kinds of opportunities she’d hoped for.
And she’d applied for every job under the sun during the last few months.
“Maybe a dominating man will be good for you. You know, to keep you on track, squelch that violent temper of yours, get you in gear for a real life,” Angie said before taking a solid step away.
While her friend was saying the words in jest, there was far more truth in Angie’s statement than she cared to admit. She’d always been Daddy’s princess, getting everything from trinkets to her choice of schools. Being an only child had its perks. Now, her father was broke, no doubt having spent all his money on her bullshit needs, toys and treats that were boxed away, some with price tags still on them. She’d never cared about how much money her father had spent. After all, she was a princess. “Maybe so. I just don’t know anymore, Angie. I feel washed up.”
“At twenty-four. You have to be kidding me.”
She snickered at the ridiculous statement. Feeling sorry for herself wasn’t going to get her anywhere. “Yeah, you’re right. Let’s have some fun today. God knows I could use it.”
“That’s the spirit. Let’s go. A few drinks, ogling sexy men. The perfect afternoon.” She wrapped her arm around Cooper’s shoulders. “I’m so glad you’re back. I missed my BFF.”
“I’ve been here for two months. Where have you been?” Cooper chided.
“Work has been insane. I haven’t had more than a day off in six weeks.”
“I wish I had that problem.”
“You’ll find something. You’re brilliant with advertising.”
Cooper groaned as they walked out of the house. “Which will do me zero good in Lubbock. I do have three applications for jobs in New York.”
“New York?”
“What’s wrong with New York?”
“Muggin
gs, murder rate of the year, the mafia. The usual.” Angie shuddered.
“A little more melodrama, please.”
“Get a job waiting tables. Hard work will do you some good.”
Hard work. Maybe. She pointed to her hot red convertible, the very last present from her father. Since then, there’d been nothing and she certainly didn’t blame him. Time to stand on her own two feet. “I’m driving.”
Angie wrinkled her nose. “I remember what happened the last time I was in a sports car with you. Even though the cop seemed very interested in the fact your tits were showing, you still got a ticket for reckless driving.”
“Ugh, don’t remind me.” She slid into the car, grabbing her sunglasses.
“As far as New York. Seriously, why go so far away? I mean, your family is here. Your friends are here. Why?”
Cooper knew the answer. She didn’t want to be a Texas girl any longer. “I hate horses. I detested the fact I was forced to work on the ranch as I was growing up. I can’t stand cattle and Texas boys are boring. Other than that? Nothing.”
Angie sighed as Cooper pressed down on the accelerator, the tires squealing as they roared out of the driveway. “Never say never, Cooper. All I can tell you is that you don’t know how wonderful your life can be until it’s stripped away from you. Enjoy being back home. That’s my advice, for what it’s worth.”
She’d never heard her happy-go-lucky friend talk this way, so serious, the tone full of such sadness. She gazed at Angie out of the corner of her eye. Her friend had changed so much during the last six years, becoming hard around the edges. She wasn’t entirely certain why, but she’d get to the bottom of it. “I understand.”
“I hope you do. You’re very lucky.”
They rode in silence for a few minutes until Cooper couldn’t take the quiet. She found a rock station on her satellite radio and turning up the volume. “I’m changing my attitude. Time to party, girlfriend.”
“Yeah, just get us there in one piece.” Angie kept her face toward the passenger window.
“Funny. Very funny.” Cooper’s thoughts were all over the place, finally settling on the cowboy from the bar. Whatever had prompted the man to use a firm hand was far more intriguing than she cared to admit. Maybe a tiny bit of her hoped he was going to be at the party. “We’re almost there.”
“Pour some sugar on me,” Angie belted out with the radio, her mood shifting once again. “You’re right, time to party like it’s...”
“...1999,” both girls said at once, giggling like schoolgirls. Both songs had been their favorites, almost anthems during high school. Even if they were left over from the eighties.
Taking the sharp turn into the festival area, she didn’t cut her speed and the second she hit a patch of gravel, the tires spun out, forcing the car to the right, fishtailing for a solid one hundred yards. She pumped the brakes, trying to gain control, her hands almost numb from gripping the steering wheel. Dust and dirt were flying everywhere given the dry weather, creating a haze in front of the car.
“Look out!” Angie yelped, pointing out the windshield.
Cooper could just make out a person or maybe an animal, or so she thought, less than one hundred feet, seventy-five... Please God, let me stop... fifty, forty feet, thirty... “Oh, shit!” She slammed the brakes with both feet, closing her eyes. When she heard and felt a slight bump, the force just enough to rock the car, she moaned. “Shit. Shit. Shit! What the hell?” Suddenly, everything seemed deathly quiet, but only for a brief minute.
“I should say the same thing to you. You almost killed me!” His voice was gruff, unforgiving yet husky in the sexiest way.
In the next few seconds, hands were dragging her out of the car. Massive hands. The person yanked Cooper off her feet with ease.
“What are you doing?” Cooper huffed, coughing from the dust. She blinked, trying to focus. Through her dark sunglasses and the glint of the bright sun, she couldn’t make out the man’s features, but he towered over her by several inches. Inhaling, the scent of a real man filtered into her nose, sending a pulse of heated electricity dancing into every cell in her body. Exotic. Musky. All male. Oh, no, she wasn’t going to be blindsided by some asshole dude. Boy, she was furious. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Me? You come flying into the parking lot without looking. What did you think was going to happen? And you’ve dented my truck.”
She winced, wiggling as she blinked several times then groaning as a crowd formed. “I did no such thing!”
“Oh, yes, you did,” he stated, his voice seductively smooth, the slight drawl sending quivers straight into her stomach.
Several people had gathered around, watching the bantering as if prepared for an actual fight.
Cooper struggled to get loose from his grip, but he was so strong. A blip in her mind caught her attention. The voice. The man from the night before. The one who’d... Wait a minute. No, this couldn’t be happening. Help me, God. “You!”
Angie eased out of the passenger seat, walking around the car and removing her sunglasses. “Hello, Rex. I thought I might see you here.”
“Why, howdy, Angie. Don’t tell me you and this brat are friends,” Rex stated, his eyes never leaving Cooper. “Oh, that’s right. Thick as thieves from before.”
“Very funny. And what about you? Slumming it?” Angie threw back.
“Rex?” Cooper asked, her mind reeling. “Rex Sullivan?” She realized her legs were shaking, her stomach lurching. This was the absolute worst thing in the entire world. He was so sexy, his jawline chiseled like fine stone, muscular in all the right places. Cut the crap. She glared at him, trying to regain her wits even as pussy juice trickled into her panties.
“Well, well, you do remember. And my buddies said you wouldn’t. I feel honored.” He let her go, waving his hand as the dust began to disperse. “Ain’t nothing to see here. You can all go back to your business,” he snarked at the onlookers.
Yanking off her sunglasses, she was more befuddled than she’d been in years. Seeing the boy turned into a man was... Images flashed into her mind, one fabulous night, an amazing kiss that seemed to last for fifteen minutes. There’d been such passion shared, such burning desire that she’d dreamt about him, fantasized about him for years, long after the single time together. While they’d only kissed, fondled a little bit, the way he’d touched her had electrified every inch of her body. Her pussy clenched at the memory alone. But... How. Dare. He. Spank. Her. In. Front. Of. Others. Period. And he was smiling at her, the grin lopsided and way too sexy. She was forced to turn away for fear of panting like a lovesick puppy. “You’re a jerk.”
“Think you already said that,” Rex snapped, indignant yet there was a sparkle in his eye.
“I might say a whole lot of other things,” Cooper retorted.
“I’m sure that Cooper is sorry for hitting your truck, but honey, I don’t see much damage. Many a teensy tiny little scratch. Surely you can forgive her,” Angie mused, giving him more than a once-over, licking her ruby-stained lips, her hand moving in front of Cooper.
Cooper huffed and planted her hand against his chest, pushing him away. He’d always gotten under her skin. They’d sparred for months then had one fabulous night. “Allow me to see just how much damage I caused.” Her legs were quivering, matching the same odd beating of her heart. She was swooning, perspiration licking along the backs of her knees. Oh, no, this man was not getting the best of her.
Rex followed her, kneeling down, his body dangerously close to hers. “See. Right there.”
She shook her head, trying to calm her raging libido. He was perhaps the most attractive man she’d ever seen and boy, had he changed, filling out in all the right places. Even his cologne was enough to drive her crazy. All woodsy and full of musk, intoxicating to the point she had difficulty breathing. The single glance at his ass, covered by well-worn jeans had told her enough. He was a stud. No. No! You can’t think this way. “You forget who my daddy is, Mr. Su
llivan. He made certain his daughter knew many things about cars, running a ranch and oh, yes. Guns. I know a lot about big guns.”
Rex chuckled and shook his head, a grin popping onto his face.
The man absolutely infuriated her. “See that paint chip right there, the slight rust? Caused from another incident long before my beautiful baby car touched your massive machine.”
Why did the words sound so dirty?
Angie chuckled behind them. “Seems like you two need an intervention. A hotel room? No, I know. Maybe a form of discipline will work.”
Both Rex and Cooper glared at her.
“Just a suggestion,” Angie stated as she held up both her arms, palms out.
The tension remained as well as the intense electricity.
“Well, little lady, you could be right. I haven’t driven this truck in a long time. It’s possible my dad got into an accident when I wasn’t around,” Rex conceded.
“Why? I mean, why haven’t you driven it for a long time?” The question was blurted out before she could stop it. The last time she’d seen the man was the day he’d graduated from high school. The big party they’d attended had been open to everyone in school and even though she was younger, she’d hitched along with her friends. She bit her lower lip as she remembered why. Him. Rex. All she’d wanted to do was see him again, tempt him in some way. After their amazing night, he’d never looked at her again.
Rex eased to his feet, turning his head toward the crowd of people already enjoying the party. “Just got back into town. Third day here. Haven’t had much time to do anything.”
His tone had changed, the inflection almost dark, mysterious. Cooper had no reason to ask him any personal questions, not that he would answer anyway. “Well, I’m sorry I almost ran into you.” When she was standing, she couldn’t help but notice his muscular physique, the tattoos adorning both arms, colorful ink crawling under the tight tee shirt. She was hot and wet, her panties damp, her dress clinging to her and her condition had nothing to do with the extreme humidity.
He gave her another quick look. “You’re a troublemaker, Cooper Dawson, just like you were in school.”
